Life

Nothing Stops Kona Inspired Winner Terry Kennedy

This Australian athlete wakes at 4:30, checks on his son and glances at a photo of his father on the wall before heading out to train for the race of his life.

by Ian Hepenstall

One might have noticed an extra skip in the step of Australian Terry Kennedy after he became one of seven to earn a place at the 2013 IRONMAN World Championship through the Kona Inspired program.

At 2:30 am last Wednesday, an email alert woke Kennedy to confirm he was headed to Kona. Away from home on a work trip, he called to wake his wife, Briohny, and share the news. They both cried (and neither was able to get back to sleep).

The last few years have been challenging for the advertising representative from the central coast of New South Wales, to say the least. He and his wife have a mentally disabled young son, Archie, who also suffers from a life-threatening condition. Last year, Kennedy learned that his father had cancer. Overweight and out of shape, Kennedy decided to turn his life around by signing up for a marathon to honour his son and father—but days before the race he suffered a stroke and heart attack and was brought back to life by medical intervention.

The journey toward IRONMAN began in recovery, when a neurologist suggested Kennedy learn to swim and cycle to improve his balance. Seven months later, he completed the IRONMAN Asia Pacific Championship Melbourne in under 12 hours.

Inspired and encouraged, Kennedy decided to reach for the stars by entering Kona Inspired. He also plans to compete IRONMAN races in Busselton, Port Macquarie and Cairns. Though his battles are not over (he suffered some heart damage competing in Melbourne), he has been given the all-clear to press on for Hawaii—which looms as something far greater than an IRONMAN for the Kennedys.

"As a family this means the world to us," he says. "It has been a huge journey and it was so exciting today to go out and get Archie a passport."

Kennedy is adamant that his wife and two children should be in Kona with him, although he is unsure yet how he will raise the necessary funds. He attracted nearly 43,000 votes with support from triathlon clubs throughout Australia, friends, supporters and some leading Australian triathletes including world champions Craig Alexander and Mirinda Carfrae. Votes spiked by nearly 4,000 after Carfrae promoted his story through her social networks.

"It has been humbling to see the IRONMAN family come together to get behind us; the support has been incredible," he said. "The thing I have learned is that you must involve your family at every event and every day."

And he's serious when he speaks of a daily commitment. Kennedy's schedule boggles the mind: He wakes at 4:30, swims at 5:00 am, then heads home to give Archie his morning bottle. After work, he heads home to put Archie to bed, trains for another hour or more, then has dinner with his wife. On weekends, he makes it a rule to finish training by mid-day to make time for family, which means he's often up at 4:00 am. None of which he ever doubts is worth it.

"[Kona] will be a dream come true given where we were," he says. "My mission is to make sure everyone knows that anything is possible if you set your mind to it."